Saturday, November 26, 2011

Join me and the staff at Shelter for cocktails and a first look at the new Radigan Adirondack Wall featuring my latest work and the framing talents of Jim Kiefer. All the pieces are framed using Adirondack native hardwoods, selected for each individual image. Believe me, the total package is amazing!

I'll be appearing at Shelter from 2 to 4 pm on Saturday, December 3, where we'll be enjoying wines, hors d'oeuvres and great company. I'm really excited about the new work and hope you'll come by and check it out. Shelter is located at 3109 St. Rt. 28 (Main St.) in Old Forge, NY next to the arcade. For any questions call (315) 369-5014.

Shelter is my exclusive dealer in the Adirondacks, specializing in exceptional rustic and contemporary custom furniture and home accessories designed by Jim Kiefer. This is the best there is!

Friday, November 25, 2011

I'll be showing my latest work as part of the group exhibit Teacher's Turn: Instructors from the Adirondack Photography Institute, which will take place at View in Old Forge from December 3, 2011 thru January 29, 2012. In a rare opportunity, the work of the rest of the API staff will also be on display.

I'm very excited about this first opportunity to show at the new arts center!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

A beautiful morning today in the village of Raquette Lake. The colors are changing a lot in certain places. It seems early, but a careful assessment proves otherwise. The maples are still in their summer coats. The changes seem mostly related to the wetland trees. There is a really nice little pond right on Rt. 28 near the village. I've done a few simple things there over the years, but today I was determined to dig into it a little. Today I was captured by the subtle variations in the earth-tone colors of the trees bordering the pond. The image I made looks like chaos at first, but there is a definite simple structure and the more I look at it the more I see. I'll look at it again six months from now and decide whether I really like it or not!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Beautiful weather today once the morning blah burned off. I couldn't resist taking my new car into Moose River Recreation Area. It's been so long since I've had a car that can go in there without my being on edge the whole time. So long in fact that the D.E.C. has since closed my favorite road in the area, toward Muskrat Pond and Squaw Lake, one of the most beautiful remote trails in the Adirondacks. It still makes me sad.

Today was all about checking out what's changed, stopping along the way to walk down to the various streams, clear my head. It didn't take long for me to be reminded why I love northern forest so much. Nothing smells like the north woods.

This being a weekday, the Otter Brook campsite was unoccupied. A great place for me to plop down my camp chair and finish a book. Sure wish I would have brought my tent...

Got up to meet the sunrise today. At least that was the plan. It wasn't obvious to me when the sun actually came up. So my first morning here is a gray one. But that's OK. Anything here is better than a nice day anywhere else!

Goal #1: Take a photo of something. Anything. Just get started.

Mission accomplished. It's not much, but I saw, I heard, I smelled the Adirondacks again.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

I was supposed to be on the road today. Figured I'd get up at 5:00 AM, pack the car, and head to Inlet for my fall season. That plan went to hell when the torrential downpour (that lasted an hour!) and lightning storm began at 4:45. As I lay in bed it occurred to me that I could stay here one more day and get a head start on my materials for the next two workshops. So here I am...

I came across this poem by Mary Oliver last night. It reminded me immediately of Nancy Rotenberg. It also makes me ponder my own uncertain future. It is a wake-up call to us in our muddling through life...

The Summer DayBy Mary Oliver

Who made the world?Who made the swan, and the black bear?Who made the grasshopper?This grasshopper, I mean –the one who has flung herself out of the grass,the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down –who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.I do know how to pay attention, how to fall downinto the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,which is what I have been doing all day.Tell me, what else should I have done?Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?Tell me, what is it you plan to dowith your one wild and precious life?

Saturday, August 27, 2011

I remember the first time I met Nancy Rotenberg. I was attending a photo workshop put on by Adirondack Life magazine in the mid-90's. Nancy was one of the leaders. I remember thinking: "This woman is like a magnet!". She was just so full of life that she was impossible to ignore. Not only that but she was doing beautiful work. We became friends that weekend.

Our friendship lasted many years, and became the foundation for the Adirondack Photography Institute. Working with Nancy was always the highlight of my year. The two of us, along with Nancy's good friend and assistant Linda Torbert, laughed and worked and laughed some more. These were the most wonderful moments of my life. If I was fated to be stuck in a time-warp, I would choose to spend it just the three of us, forever laughing our way across the Adirondacks, dragging sleep-deprived workshop participants in tow.

The news that I have been dreading for some time came this morning. My friend Nancy is gone.

I could write about her forever, but I should leave her spirit to the silence. I love you Nancy and I will never forget.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Great weather this weekend in Lake Placid! I'd forgotten just how hard it is to drive straight from Cleveland into a workshop. But it was worth it. This was a great group that laughed a lot and made some really great images. (Best Milky Way picture I've seen!)

I met some people I'll never forget. And had some beautiful surprises.

I'm going to act like an invalid tonight in Inlet. Make some visits on Monday. Then home. (boo) What's it going to take for me to just be here? Can't wait to get back up here for the retreat...

Saturday, August 20, 2011

It's been way, way too long since I've been here, but here I am at last! My first workshop of the year! I get to see all my friends from Adirondack Life, most of the API staff and have a great time in Lake Placid. They were calling for nasty weather, but it has been perfect the whole time. And, what a surprise when I opened the door to my room at the Northwoods and saw the killer view of Mirror Lake, Whiteface and Main Street. I am SO happy!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

It's only fitting that I was able to watch Brian Henke perform last night. He's such a great player and I use his work in nearly all of my Adirondack-related presentations. So his music reverberates in my mind as I prepare for my Lake Placid workshop coming this weekend. Brian and I are also planning a special event together highlighting our new work, probably taking place early next year. Stay tuned!

You can get a nice sampling of Brian by watching this video I made to promote Adirondack Photo Institute. His music is available on cdbaby.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

It's that time of year when summer season in the Adirondacks is starting to get serious. This year I'm going to do something new and exciting. I'm going to get together with Shelter, my exclusive dealer in the Adirondacks, and put together an invitation-only event featuring some of my newest work, to celebrate the new season. I'm working on the images now, and will soon be getting them off to Shelter, where Jim Kiefer will be finishing them with beautiful Adirondack hardwood frames.

It's exciting to be working on new things, and exciting to share them. Above is a sneak peek from Eighth Lake last fall.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

I admit that sometimes I forget what it's like to be a Clevelander. Last year I didn't spend much time here, and when I did, I wasn't really here.

I've known about The Barking Spider for a long time. But I didn't begin to spend signficant time there until last year. It was a place to go and regroup, to start over, to be anonymous. Friendly, but unobtrusive. Authentic is probably a good word. Anyhow, the history was unknown to me.

Last night, I spent the evening with what can only be called the Spider family. Beachland Ballroom graciously hosted Martin Memorial, in memory of the visionary founder of The Barking Spider, Martin Juredine, who passed on very recently. All kinds of great music and stories and goodwill, ending with a sparkling performance by Jim Volk in the tavern.

I knew Martin by sight only, but man did he touch a lot of people in his life. This night was all about what it means to be a Clevelander, the good times, the bad, the bizarre, the lonely, the community. It was about just how BIG music and poetry and laughter can be. And just how big of a part the Spider plays in all of it. A night not to be forgotten...

Sunday, March 13, 2011

I've made a lot of changes to my macro program at Cleveland Botanical Garden. This weekend was the third time I've led a program in conjunction with Orchid Mania. I think overall the participants have always ended the weekend feeling that they've learned a lot, but I have always felt that the structure of the program didn't allow me to get enough across. This time, however, I left CBG feeling that the program resulted in a big step up in the participants' work. I was really happy to see how many nice images were shown during the final critique. I was even happier to see how much exploration was happening, with everyone working hard to dig deeper and deeper into their subjects, trying to get their defining image.

If this weekend was any indication, this is going to be a great workshop year for me...

Monday, March 7, 2011

Things are starting to look different to me. Yeah, it snowed yesterday, but things just looked different. Sun angle, I guess. Regardless, this time of year certain things take place that make Spring start to seem inevitable. When I start to get that feeling, there are things I do as well, so I can play along. Once I see the March sun, I start thinking camping. Hard to believe, but only six weeks 'til my start of the season camping trip to Allegheny National Forest! To get in the mood, a trip to Gander Mountain is required. Just a half-hour or so walking around looking at stuff, thinking about campfires and fishing and stars and hikes and on and on. (Yeah, I think about photographing, as well) I don't really need much in the way of camping gear anymore, but looking at the stuff gets me fired up to get outdoors. It won't be long now...

Another sure sign of spring is the annual Orchid Mania at Cleveland Botanical Garden. Again this year I'm lucky enough to be taking part, by leading a macro workshop at the Garden. I'll be working with some new friends this Saturday and Sunday, showing tips and tricks to getting creative with flowers. I'm excited that we'll have some private time in the Glass House this year, before the Garden opens to the public.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

It certainly was fun showing my first new exhibit in over four years, at home, finally. The turnout was quite large for an exhibit of this type, in a community center as opposed to a gallery or art center.

Many of the people who I can count on to come to my exhibits in Ohio were surprised to see that I haven't even been doing the kind of work that they know me for. It was nice that my current approach was accepted so graciously by everyone I was able to spend time with, the opening being so busy.

I notice a common theme wherever I've shown this work. People are far more engaged than they were with my more traditional nature work, asking lots of questions, commenting on subtle details, and so forth. There is very obviously a direct connection being made with the new pieces, which I find personally satisfying and also enlightening. I am learning things about my own work, from others.

Most comical exchange from last night: A guy raved about how he'd never really liked anything heavily Photoshopped, that it usually looks overdone to him, but that I had become so good at it that my work is on a level all its own. (Something like that.) He was so sincere that I didn't have the heart to tell him that all the images were created in-camera, Photoshop being used basically just to do minor corrections and the printing. I'm still laughing inside. It's amazing the assumptions people make.

About Me

I am a photo artist and writer whose heart lives in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, regardless of where I happen to be eating my breakfast each morning.

I am owner/director of the Adirondack Photography Institute, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of our lives and preserving our natural spaces through the study and practice of outdoor photography as a creative medium.

Oh yeah, if I'm lucky enough on a given day to have a choice of breakfast venue, that would be the Tamarack Café in Inlet, NY.